@Kiskaloo wrote:For extra spending cash, Kara has taken a side job as a "booth bunny":

Every other cyborg: (in unison) What the hell do you need extra cash for!?

Allison: Well, I totally understand where she's coming from. When I collect extra pocket money, it goes into my cars as fuel or performance parts. Hell, I used to loot dead Padanians for every extra Euro I could find!

Allison: Frankly, Michele, if you really want her to learn how far currency can grow, you should drive into her some lessons of ruthless capitalism. "Pump and Dump" might be seen as a scam, but frankly, even Jean would be proud of its 'by any means necessary' function in capitalism. I started with penny stocks I purchased with a Ä100 banknote, used cover names, and did a lot of hype work. Once they reached their buying peaks, I sold like hell, and turned my profits onto investment in mutual funds. Yes, some people now have stocks that aren't worth a damn, but as the saying goes, "There's a sucker born every minute."

Michele: And you learned this from where, again?

Allison: American economics textbooks. You'd be surprised at what they teach high school kids to do. By the way... I think I smell something burning--scorched Pirellis?! Oh crap! Your Gallardo is on fire!!!

The Gallardo is reduced to a smoldering wreck...Michele is reduced to a babbling, sobbing mental patient...Kara is reduced to hiding from him in the file cabinet, and the usual crowd of gawkers gathers around...

Marisa: I think the most important thing is, we've all learned a valuable lesson about safely working with flammable solvents, and nobody should need to be punished for this!

Elio: (growling) My office...now.

Allison: Ohhhhh!!! (hopping in place in a caffeine addled frenzy) Can I fix it? Can I fix it? Can I fix it? Can I fix it? Can I fix it? Can I fix it? Can I fix it?

Brian: Just how many cups of coffee have you had today?

Professor Voodoo

Forum Posts : 3422

Location : Hudson Valley, New York

Fan of : That one guy who was only in one episode & didn't have any lines.

Allison: "American economics textbooks. You'd be surprised at what they teach high school kids to do. By the way... I think I smell something burning--scorched Pirellis?! Oh crap! Your Gallardo is on fire!!!"

[Michele rushes to the car, seeing Marisa furiously pour water on it from a hose.]

[Michele heads to the garage area and comes back with a large fire extinguisher filled with Arctic Fire-Freeze foam, which he applies first to the back of the car to protect the fuel tank, and then moves forward to smother the flames. Alpha appears and helps with the suppression efforts. Soon the car is just smoldering.]

[Marisa isn't sure if she's being praised or chided. But still, he seems very calm, which she finds comforting.]

Marisa: Kara paid me Ä10 to clean the bugs off the car. I tried water and soap, but it wasn't working as well. So I used some acetone and that worked great!"

Michele: "I seeÖ"

Marisa: "I wanted to listen to the radio and the roof was in the way. Kara left me the keys so I turned the car on, but I swear I didn't drive it."

Michele: "The car's where I left it, so I believe you. But you just turned the key to the Accessory position, right?"

[Marisa's face goes blank.]

Marisa: "Accessory position?"

Michele: "So you started it?"

Marisa: "Well I needed it on to work the roof controls and radio."

[Michele nodded his head. Beside him, Alpha pinches his nose with his fingers.]

Alpha: "Oh manÖ The catsÖ"

[Michele sagely nods his head.]

Marisa: "Cats? I didn't see any cats. I don't think Rachel let's Meeshie out of her room."

Alpha: "Not those kinds of cats, dear."

[Marisa continued to be surprised at how calm Michele was. She'd heard from the other girls he was always nice to them, even when they made a mistake, but even she figured that as mistakes went, this was a pretty big one. Unfortunately, from the look on Elio's face as he approaches like a Tyrannosaur, she thinks her own handler won't be nearly asÖcalm.]

Elio (his voice a low growl): "My officeÖnow."

[Marisa nods her head. She looks towards her handler as she delivers the following line.]

Marisa: "I'm really sorry Mister Pagani. But I learned an important lesson about safely working with flammable solvents. I promise to take it to heart in the future, so I hope you won't be too cross with me. I'll also be on the look-out for cats. I didn't realize they were so dangerous around cars."

[Marisa skips off towards the office as Brian appears, having received a call from Allison.]

Elio: "Cats? What the heck is she talking about?"

Alpha: "Catalytic converters, Elio. The ones on the Gallardo get very hot, especially when the car is just idling stationary. They probably ignited the fumes from the acetone Marisa was using."

Elio:

Brian: "Jose and Hilshire said you were unflappable, but a cyborg just torched your car. I'd expect you'd be crying or tearing out your hair."

Marco: "They're using her middle name. She must really be in trouble."

Jose: "Elio ran out here fast enough when his cell went off. I wonder what the two of them did."

Marco: "We'll find out soon enough. Olga's put her intelligence background to good use building the 'SWA Grapevine'."

-----

[Kara appears at Director Lorenzo's office and was met at the door by a young blonde girl wearing a maid's outfit. The girl escorted Kara into the Director's office, which was empty, and directed her to take a seat on the grey sofa. She does so and starts practicing how to look cute for when Michele arrives.]

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In the basement, Monty struggled away on the paperwork. Kara had helped for about ninety minutes before theÖincidentÖcalled her away, and in the following two hours she'd whittled the stack down by about half. As she worked, her nose detected the smell of both Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano and she looked up to see Michele arriving with a square plate piled high with dressed fettuccine and a large glass filled with a deep, red wine.

"I thought you'd be busy peeling the skin off of Kara's hide," Monty noted as she put down her pen. "Why you bother to let them drive in the first place is beyond meÖ"

"Their reaction time, reflexes and situational awareness behind the wheel is better than mine. They also are more precise with their movements and their hearts are artificial so the insane chaos that passes for traffic flow in this town doesn't bother cause palpitations. I figure I've added years to my life by letting them handle the driving around Rome, even if I'm taking zeros off my bank balance with all the wrecks."

"This is damned good," Monty noted, indicating the food and the wine.

"Thank you," Michele replied. "Is that an original Mondrial?"

---------------------------------------

In Lorenzo's office, Kara nervously tapped the toes of her boots and twiddled her thumbs as she waited. With every tick of the minute hand on the clock, her trepidation grew. She heard the door open and she immediately stood and plastered the cutest smile she could on her face.

Claes rushed in, wearing a grey school uniform and blue leather boots. In her right hand she held a black foam poker which she viciously swung to tag Kara in the side of the head.

"Hey! What was that for?" Kara demanded.

"That was for ruining my ride!" Claes said. "I'd just gotten comfortable driving it and you have Mari melt it! Now he's talking about getting the Batmobile or something."

"Batmobile?"

"It's the Spanish word for bat," Claes replied, flustered.

"Murciťlago?"

"Yeah. that's it."

"InterestingÖ"

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This year's GT3 class at LeMans is going to be something to see if all the potential manufacturers actually show up. Porsche, Ferrari, Ford, Nissan, Audi, Aston Martin, Chevrolet...I'm sure I left a few out.

Professor Voodoo

Forum Posts : 3422

Location : Hudson Valley, New York

Fan of : That one guy who was only in one episode & didn't have any lines.

@Professor Voodoo wrote:This year's GT3 class at LeMans is going to be something to see if all the potential manufacturers actually show up. Porsche, Ferrari, Ford, Nissan, Audi, Aston Martin, Chevrolet...I'm sure I left a few out.

For me, it's all about the closed-cockpit prototypes in LMP (I hate the Spyders), but I agree that a strong GT3 field will help keep my interest for the marathon of coverage SPEED will be doing.

@Kiskaloo wrote:For extra spending cash, Kara has taken a side job as a "booth bunny":

Every other cyborg: (in unison) What the hell do you need extra cash for!?

Allison: Well, I totally understand where she's coming from. When I collect extra pocket money, it goes into my cars as fuel or performance parts. Hell, I used to loot dead Padanians for every extra Euro I could find!

David Wilson: If you want maximum returns off stealing the dead guy's pocket change, I'd recommend looting dead Global Military Solutions mercenaries. They usually have at least few thousand Euro on them.

@ElfenMagix wrote:Is that the actual USS JFK along side the HMS Invincible?

Nevermind, I see its the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) with the HMS Illustrious. Lovely Pic...

I know it's not the exact same vessels, but the USS John C. Stennis is about the same size as the USS JFK and the HMS Illustrious is about the same size as the Invincible, so it's an accurate portrayal of the size difference between the two vessels.

@ElfenMagix wrote:Is that the actual USS JFK along side the HMS Invincible?

Nevermind, I see its the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) with the HMS Illustrious. Lovely Pic...

I know it's not the exact same vessels, but the USS John C. Stennis is about the same size as the USS JFK and the HMS Illustrious is about the same size as the Invincible, so it's an accurate portrayal of the size difference between the two vessels.

"Only the names have been changed to protect those who serve on them..."

Monty: You ever get that weird feeling you're being watched, but just can't work out where from?

Kara: I thought that was the point of this; act as a distraction.

Monty: Yes, but I still like to be able to figure out where the bloke with the binoculars is... personal thing.

Kara: "I'm a Japanese girl in Europe. I'm used to being stared at. But I wouldn't worry, I noticed earlier that Sandro has been watching the Port for bad guys from the balcony of his room at the Hotel Hermitage up the hill."

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@Alfisti wrote:Monty: Well, here's another plan you can count me out of... no offence but you're welcome to that one Kara. I'll wear a maid outfit before that.

[The next mission at a hotel...]

Kara: "You just had to say that in front of Mr. Sandro, didn't you?"

Monty (now dressed as waitstaff): You know, I was going to complain about the thick tie on this... but oddly; not so concerned anymore. Hey, I was right definate about what I would and wouldn't wear, this I can just about handle, considering the alternatives. It's not my fault Ricci has odd fetishes.